As a boxing fan I want pros in the Olympic games

[HanzGruber]

Check this out Einstein...the nba is the mt Everest of world basketball. But you already knew that.

What's your point? And you'd be fine with say kovalev fighting some amateur kid who will never even sniff a world title?

[dan_cov]

Its like old veterans fighting prospects, I see no outcry about that?

Amateur boxing and pro boxing are practically two different sports. If you think just because somebody is a pro they are better you're wrong.

These pro's don't train for it and neither are virtually any of them used to the format. Take Prizefighter pro boxing but over a short format - The seasoned veteran, the old pro never wins its always the guy fresh out of the amateurs.
A lot of these pro's wasn't good amateurs & still aren't, if anything they're even less suited to the amateurs than they was 15years back.

Look at all the amateurs even in the pro's, practically unbeatable for 4-5 rounds.

Its a different format and totally different stylings. These pros have spent years training on delivering power, pacing themselves and such.

I'll bet absolutely anything that most of these pro's do absolutely horrendous at the olympics.

[Sweet Jones]

Pro's in other sports can't kill each other man. LeBron being in the Olympics won't lead to a shorter life span towards his competitors. That's my biggest argument, honestly. Putting guys with so much experience with amateurs (head gear or not) is dangerous

This right here.

It's no accident that the 2 sports without pros (boxing and wrestling) are the ones where the experience and physical maturity difference come lead to the most damage to a competitor.

And IIRC, there is no headgear this year. Something else to keep in mind.

[dan_cov]

Just pretend Al haymon is promoting it, I'm sure most of you wouldn't have a problem then.

[Sweet Jones]

Just pretend Al haymon is promoting it, I'm sure most of you wouldn't have a problem then.

Wow, man. Just......wow.

[Scipio2009]

I would watch every single match any pro was involved in just to see if they got upset or how they adjust their style to suit the amateur scoring system..

Would be amazing to see some young unknown kid beat a couple professionals on his way to a gold medal....

Most of the guys at the olympics will turn pro and be fighting 4-6-8 rounders for a couple years before we even hear their names again unless they are superstars like Floyd,Roy,Oscar etc....

Why not bring the sport back to the mainstream and get some eyeballs on the tv during the Olympic Games this summer....

Plus I really,really,really wanna see Amir Khan get chin checked by some fking skinny azz Indian kid that won't even make it as a professional lol...

Im not up on the amateurs from overseas but if there's any guys left out there like Lomachenko or Rigondeaux then good luck to the pros who run into them in the games...

Devin Haney, were he allowed to have fought on the Olympic team (and likely would've been the best American at the weight class), would've been 17 years old, fighting grown men at 132lbs (basically fighting pro featherweights/super featherweights).

Not every instance would end up like that, but that's the nightmare scenario (a grown man beating the **** out of a promising junior Olympian just stepping into the openweight division)

[Robbie Barrett]

People see the words "amateur" and "pro" and think that represents the skill level. The fighters at the Olympics are some of the most skilled in the world. Even the worst fighter at the Olympics is more skilled than the bums/journeymen we see fighting on TV every week.

[Robbie Barrett]

Devin Haney, were he allowed to have fought on the Olympic team (and likely would've been the best American at the weight class), would've been 17 years old, fighting grown men at 132lbs (basically fighting pro featherweights/super featherweights).

Not every instance would end up like that, but that's the nightmare scenario (a grown man beating the **** out of a promising junior Olympian just stepping into the openweight division)

If every country was sending their best fighter do you think Haney would have even been considered for the spot in the team? I don't.

[Larry the boss]

Team USA basketball is ALL pro players...yet people are getting upset at pro boxers fighting? Hmmm

yea but they are playing other pros

[danceswithfire]

as a reasonable man , I hope all opportunistic pros get knocked the **** out by ams